I think we do understand that pricing is one of the issues. And yes, that may well affect the success or failure of Nubia. But the point of the story goes behyond that. Nobody in China, including traditional ODMs, is satisfied for being just a manufacturer of a low, low cost whitebox based on the spec that was given to them.
What Huawei's Ascend or ZTE's Nubia are doing in recent years will change the fabric of the Chinese electronics industry, in my opinion.

with due respect, your comments are so so so US eccentric, as if whenever any US company joins to compete, China companies wil have no chance. That maybe true 15, 20 years ago. But it is increasingly no longer the case. Look at Samsung 10 years ago and look at them again today. And then how much bigger is China than Korea, in terms of talents AND market? US arrogance is going to be self-destructive, and as an American myself i feel sad.

"Nubia’s Z5, priced at 3,456 yuan (roughly $550), is a high-end smartphone loaded with bells and whistles. But Nubia takes a pride in a few unique features. "
With a price like that ZTE is competing head to head with all big name smartphone makers. Not much room there unfortunately. Strategy already fail IMO.
"Xiaomi, coming out of nowhere, “became famous in just two years,” said Fei." There is a reason for that ... With all bells & whistles they are selling at ~300$. No one else competes in that space. ie a high end phone at 300$ price till now.
Google Nexus , although priced at that range, is not intended to sell in millions and not available in china. Hence there was a market gap for Xiaomi.
Anyways Amazon is rumoured to launch a smartphone. If true, that will be a mass produced smartphone ~300$. And there will direct competition even for Xiaomi.